KPMG International and PricewaterhouseCoopers, two of the Big Four accounting firms, have announced they are pulling out of Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Both companies announced on Sunday that they were terminating relations with their Russian member firms.
PricewaterhouseCoopers said it has 3,700 employees at its Russian headquarters and will oversee an “orderly transition” out of business, the Associated Press reported.
“We believe that, along with other global companies, we have a responsibility to respond to the Russian government’s ongoing military attack on Ukraine. As a result, our Russian and Belarusian firms will exit the KPMG network,” a KMPG International representative said in a statement.
KPMG said it employs about 4,500 people in Russia and Belarus and called the decision to end its relationship with them “incredibly difficult.”
“This decision does not concern them – it is a consequence of the actions of the Russian government,” the company said. everything in our power to ensure that we provide transitional support to former colleagues who have been affected by this decision.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a string of international sanctions against Moscow and a rapidly growing list of countries leaving the country.
On Sunday, Netflix announced it was ending operations in Russia, and TikTok said it would no longer allow users in Russia to post videos on the platform.
Major credit card companies Visa, MasterCard and American Express also decided to suspend operations in the country over the weekend.
Microsoft, Apple and Dell have announced sales suspensions in the country, as have major fashion companies such as LVMH, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton and Fenty Beauty.